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Nine persons, aged between 22 and 76, will be charged in court on 25 May 2026 for their suspected involvement in separate cases of shop theft.

The details of the cases are as follows:

• On 13 May 2026, a 32-year-old man had allegedly stolen a food item valued at about $2, from a NTUC Fairprice outlet located along Yishun Street 81. He then went to a Sheng Siong outlet located along Yishun Street 81 where he was detained by an outlet staff following an alert received from Sheng Siong’s Facial Recognition (FR) CCTV technology. The man was subsequently arrested by Police at scene. The arrest was aided through FR technology used by Sheng Siong across all its outlets island-wide which may trigger an alert should a flagged individual be detected at any of its outlets. Further investigations revealed that the man was also  involved in three earlier cases of shop theft from the same Sheng Siong outlet on 19 February 2026, 7 March 2026 and 18 April 2026 where he had allegedly stolen multiple items, amounting to about $153. The man will be charged with four counts of theft in dwelling under Section 380 of the Penal Code 1871.
  
  
• On 21 April 2026, a 48-year-old man had allegedly stolen a bottle of whisky, amounting to $52, from a Cold Storage outlet located at Compass One. He was detained by a member of the public who was patronising the outlet after the man left without making payment. He was subsequently arrested by Police at the scene. The man will be charged with one count of theft in dwelling under Section 380 of the Penal Code 1871. 
  
  
• Between 13 and 25 February 2026, a 41-year-old man had allegedly stolen several alcohol and food items, amounting to about $334, from a Sheng Siong outlet located along Senja Close. On 26 February 2026, he was detained by an outlet staff and was arrested by Police at the scene. The man will be charged with one count of amalgamated theft in dwelling under Section 380 of the Penal Code 1871 read with Section 124(4) of the Criminal Procedure Code 2010.
  
  
• On 13 February 2026, a 56-year-old woman had allegedly stolen several items, amounting to about $19, from a Guardian outlet located along Tampines Street 23. She was detained by an outlet staff after she left without making payment, and Police assistance were called in. Further investigations revealed that the woman was also involved in two earlier cases of shop theft at the same store on 29 January 2026 and 5 February 2026, where she had allegedly stolen several items, amounting to about $105. The woman will be charged with three counts of theft in dwelling under Section 380 of the Penal Code 1871.
  
  
• On 24 January 2026, a 49-year-old man had allegedly stolen a pair of sunglasses valued at $388 from a Sunglass Hut outlet located at VivoCity. Through follow-up investigations and with the aid of the CCTV images from the store, the Police managed to establish his identity. Further investigations revealed that the man was also involved in an earlier case of shop theft at a Sheng Siong outlet along Chin Swee Road on 19 March 2025, where he had allegedly stolen items amounting to about $32. After careful consideration of the facts and circumstances of the case, the Police, in consultation with the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC), issued a 12-month conditional warning to the man on 25 June 2025 for one count of theft in dwelling under Section 380 of the Penal Code 1871 in relation to the 2025 incident. As the man breached this conditional warning by allegedly committing a further offence during the recent incident on 24 January 2026, he will be charged with two counts of theft in dwelling under Section 380 of the Penal Code 1871.
  
  
• On 10 November 2025, a 75-year-old man had allegedly stolen several food items, amounting to about $25, from a Cold Storage outlet at Suntec City. While a Loss Prevention Officer from the outlet was attempting to detain him after seeing the man left without making payment, the man allegedly pushed the officer, causing him to hit against a wall and sustain injuries. The man will be charged with one count of theft in dwelling under Section 380 of the Penal Code 1871 and one count of voluntarily causing hurt under Section 323 of the same Act. 
  
  
• On 7 November 2025, a 25-year-old woman had allegedly stolen multiple items, amounting to about $923, from a NTUC Fairprice outlet along Clementi Avenue 3. Through follow-up investigations and with the aid of CCTV images from the  store, the Police managed to establish her identity. The woman will be charged with one count of theft in dwelling under Section 380 of the Penal Code 1871. 
  
  
• On 28 October 2025, a 50-year-old man had allegedly stolen three food items, amounting to about $52, from a Cold Storage outlet at West Mall. He was detained by an outlet staff after he left without making payment, and Police assistance were called in. The man will be charged with one count of theft in dwelling under Section 380 of the Penal Code 1871.
  
  
• On 12 September 2025, a 21-year-old woman had allegedly stolen several food items, amounting to about $93, from a Sheng Siong outlet located along Clementi Avenue 1. She was detained by an outlet staff and was subsequently arrested by Police at the scene. Further investigations revealed that the woman was also involved in seven earlier cases of shop theft at the same store between 12 July and 4 September 2025, where she had allegedly stolen multiple items, amounting to about $593. The woman will be charged with eight counts of theft in dwelling under Section 380 of the Penal Code 1871.

The offence of theft in dwelling under Section 380 of the Penal Code 1871, carries an imprisonment term of up to seven years and a fine.

During this mid-year school holidays period, retail outlets are expected to experience higher footfall, which may create greater opportunities for shop theft to occur amid the crowds. The Police would like to remind retailers to remain vigilant and to take proactive measures to deter shop theft. Retailers are advised to adopt the following measures:

• Ensure a good line of sight for the displays by using an appropriate shop layout;
• Display prominently advisory posters and/or signs against shop theft;
• Secure sale items or have them under surveillance by CCTV cameras, especially those places at extended areas;
• Do not leave items in the stall unattended after operating hours for stalls or bazaar;
• Display expensive merchandise in locked showcases or at prominent locations (e.g. near or behind cashier counters);
• Install CCTVs with recording system at the entrance/exit of the store to capture the facial features of any shop lifter;
• Deploy adequate staff to patrol the premises to increase deterrence;
• Be extra vigilant with seasonal high-value items such as gift hampers, festive goods, ensuring they are properly secured and monitored; and
• Remind staff to be particularly alert during peak shopping hours and to report any suspicious behaviours immediately.

Retailers are also strongly encouraged to join the Shop Theft Awareness for Retailers (STAR) programme. Under the STAR programme, the Police work closely with retailers to analyse the stores’ risk factors and vulnerabilities to shop theft, and jointly identify effective and practical crime prevention measures. Major retail chains like NTUC FairPrice, Sheng Siong, Watsons and Popular have joined the STAR programme, implementing various crime prevention strategies through this collaboration to strengthen their defence against shop theft. Retailers may contact their nearest Neighbourhood Police Centre to find out more about the programme.  

Curbing shop theft requires the collective efforts of the community. While the Police carry out public education and enforcement, members of the public are encouraged to remain vigilant and report suspicious activities promptly to the authorities. The prevalence of CCTV cameras with facial recognition technology has also allowed retailers to better detect offenders at their outlets leading to their arrest by Police. Retailers are increasingly leveraging CCTV footages to lodge police reports against shoplifters, even when immediate apprehension is not possible. This serves as a significant deterrent — even if offenders manage to evade detection at the time of the offence, CCTV evidence greatly increases the likelihood of their eventual identification and they will face the full brunt of the law.